Leases: freight company takes 156,100 sf

Industrial leasing near Los Angeles is not dead. It is just pickier now. That is why this Fullerton deal matters: Columbia Container Lines LAX took 156,096 square feet at 691-701 Burning Tree Road, a big-box industrial property owned by CIM Group. The move gives a freight forwarder more room and a better operating setup at a moment when a lot of tenants are hesitating, not expanding. (crenews.com) ### Who actually signed the lease? The tenant is Columbia Container Lines LAX, a freight forwarding and logistics company. It signed a 68-month lease for 156,096 square feet in Fullerton. The landlord is CIM Group. Tyler Rollema and Matt Stringfellow of The Klabin Company represented the tenant, while CBRE represented ownership. (co([crenews.com) building, exactly? The property sits at 691-701 Burning Tree Road in Fullerton, in North Orange County, roughly 23 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. That location matters because it gives a logistics operator quick access to the 5 and 91 freeways and keeps it inside the dense Southern California distribution web without paying for the closest-in port submarkets. (crenews.com) ### Why this building? Turns out the building checks a lot of freight-user boxes. CBRE markets the property as a roughly 196,911-square-foot distribution and manufacturing facility with 18 dock-high doors, six grade-level ramps, a large fenced yard, three access points, and heavy loading capability. Columbia is taking 156,096 square (crenews.com)he giant million-square-foot boxes farther inland. (cbre.com) ### Why is Columbia moving? The simple answer is efficiency. Columbia is relocating and expanding from Gardena as part of a longer-term plan to consolidate operations and support growth. That tells you this is not a defensive lease or a short-term patch. It is an operating decision — move pieces together, cut friction, and set up for more volume. (connectcre.com) ### How big is the deal in dollars? More than $13.6 million over 68 months. For an industrial lease, that is meaningful because it shows tenants will still commit real money when the building and the location solve an actual logistics problem. Big leases are harder to win in a softer market, but they do clear when the use case is obvious. (connect([connectcre.com)t is the market backdrop? The broader greater-LA industrial market has cooled from its ultra-tight peak. Voit’s first-quarter 2025 Los Angeles County report showed vacancy at 5.51%, up 17.18% year over year from 4.71%, while new construction had also slowed sharply from the 2023 peak. In plain English — there is more breathing room than there was two years ago, but not so much that well-located large blocks have become easy to replace. (voitco.com) ### Why Fullerton instead of the Inland Empire? Because not every logistics company wants the cheapest box. Freight operators often need a balance of building size, freeway access, labor access, and distance to customers or ports. Fullerton is an infill compromise — closer than the Inland Empire, more available than the tightest South Bay pockets, and still plugged into the region’s freight(voitco.com)d Columbia’s stated consolidation plan, but it fits the logic of the move. (cbre.com) ### So what is the takeaway? This lease does not mean the market is roaring again. But it does show that large, functional industrial space in Southern California still moves when the tenant has a real operational reason to act. Basically, demand is no longer broad and frantic. It is selective — and that is enough to keep good big-box space in play. (connectcre.com)